Category Archives: Design

Kikoys from Mombasa

Posted on by

2

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful coast of Kenya-Diani Beach, Mombasa.  I got a chance to get out of the city with some truly genuine people and found what has become one of my favorite Kenya souvenirs-the kikoy.  They can be used as a sarong, wrap, head cover, towel, scarf, blanket or really anything you want.  For awhile, I was accidentally calling them kiokos, which incidentally is a common African last name and was causing a lot of confusion when I was asking the women on the beach if they were selling Kiokos….

Several of the kikoys I bought at Diani Beach

Kikoys can be bought for about 500 ksh (roughly $6.50) with some bargaining.  The ones that I especially love with towels sewn on one side (shown in photo above-purple stripe one side, solid purple towel other) can be bought for about 900 ksh (roughly $10.50) with some serious bargaining.  One late afternoon on the beach, on the suggestion of my new friend, Philip, I took a picture of the women who sell the kikoys leaving after a days work.

I think this picture is really beautiful.
Thank you for the kikoys, women of Kenya.

I am planning another trip to the coast in November, it is safe to say I will be on the lookout for more kikoys.

xoxo

-s

Currently Coveting: Cabin Cozy

Posted on by

1

Just saw this 700 square foot cabin from Mountain Living, and instantly fell in love with the property. The views, the coziness, but the brightness from those windows. I read a book a while ago that was written from Ernest Hemingway’s first wife’s point of view, called “The Paris Wife”. She writes about spending time in the mountains and feeling healthy, fit and happy from breathing the fresh air daily, eating well, and drinking wine in the evening by a fire.  This cabin makes me think of cozying into a blanket, reading a good book, and sipping tea in the morning. I picture hiking, and fly fishing during the day, and then drinking wine and talking around the fire in the evening. Everything about this small foot print space is gorgeous (the styling certainly helps with that).

Get the cozy look with these blankets.

Pendleton Rainier

Pendleton Basketmakers

Pendleton Glacier

xx

-h

Designer Tuesday

Posted on by

0

In Lieu of our usual Tuesday Shoesday, I thought I would highlight a designer purse that I have been coveting.  Dooney and Bourke reminds me of my mom because when we were kids she had this classic Dooney green purse with a matching wallet and coin purse that my dad had given her one Christmas.  At the time I didn’t realize that it was a timeless beauty, but I liked the duck emblem.

I’m going on a trip to Kenya in the fall and have been looking for the perfect natural colored bag to bring.  I can’t help but picture myself with this:

Dooney & Bourke ‘Florentine’ Vachetta Leather Satchel

Probably an inappropriate choice for my travels, but I’ve never been one to conform.

 

xoxo

-s

Before and After: 1940’s Patio Chairs

Posted on by

4

When we moved into our house Milt and Judy (the previous owners) left enough crap to fill a landfill. Not a joke. The garage was full, the yard was full, and there was still stuff in the house. I guess they thought we would want their towels that were hanging on the rack. They were wrong. We did not want most of the stuff. Scratch that, we didn’t want any of it. Luckily our amazing real estate agent had their agent take care of the majority of the stuff, but there was still a lot of things in the yard. Including two 1940’s style patio metal chairs and two tables that matched. I decided this was the perfect project for spray paint.

Here are the before and after photos.

I used the hose on high pressure to wash off any dust, dirt, and spider webs. The tables had been painted before, and I scraped as much paint as I could off of them, but in the end, decided it wasn’t that big of deal to paint over it. I wouldn’t recommend that tactic since you can see where the paint was before. I lightly sanded everything with steel wool, then went to town. It took one can of yellow for each table and two cans of blue for each chair.

xx

-h

More Pendant Decisions

Posted on by

0

Remember how I was trying to decide on lights for our dining room?

I saw this today on Joss & Main and I think I might pull the trigger. Hopefully it’s not brownish and is more greyish like they say.

Not a member of Joss & Main, click here to get on board!

What do you guys think? Should I do it?

xx

-h

Monday 4th of July Inspiration

Posted on by

1

It’s a little hard to concentrate on the Monday of a work week that has a big holiday smack dab in the middle. Here’s a little inspiration to get you through to Wednesday from Glassy Baby.

Glassy Baby donates part of the proceeds from their sales to charities. Each one is hand blown and when a candle is lit, the colors change according to the tint and reflection of the light.

Happy short work week!

xx

-h

Pendant Lights for the Dining Room

Posted on by

6

You guys, our dining room needs a new light situation bad. There is a chandelier fixture spot ready to have something wired in to it and I’ve been looking around for the perfect addition to the room. I found it. However, there is a slight budget conflict. A girl can dream about $350 light fixtures right?

Sigh. It’s from Ballard Designs and it looks awesome.

Inspired by this via Young House Love:

I also found these options that a little more budget friendly. What do you guys think?

Here is a photo of our dining room.

What do you think? Have you seen any other cool fixtures that you think would look good?

xx

-h

DIY or DIE: Chair Mission Accomplished

Posted on by

0

Remember the chair project that I was going to finish back in April? Let me refresh your memory.

Well guess what?! I finished it! The Nana came down this weekend and helped me complete the project – sewing the cushion. She calmly explained how to put the zipper in, reminded me to leave extra seam allowance, and suggested I press before sewing. The Nana is a sewing master.

Wooooo! Will show you a pic of it in my house once my dad brings it over at the end of this week.

xx

-h

America!

Posted on by

1

America things remind me of my birthday – because I was born on 7/3 and for the first years of my life, I’m pretty sure I thought that the fireworks were for me.

What they weren’t?

Anyways, lately, I’ve been drawn to red, white, and blue things. Here are a few of my favorites.

Grain sack table runner from Jennifer Lyon’s Etsy Shop. The dining table we picked up from Craigslist has a water ring right in the middle on one end that I’ve been covering up with whatever textiles I have around the house, but this one would match these napkins I picked up from Kohl’s when we were in Montana a couple weeks ago.

They are on super sale right now for only $2.99 each.

Love this headband for days at the lake.

And this scarf, also from ThreeBirdNest’s Etsy Shop since our weather here in the PNW can be a little temperamental.

I’m picturing my dining table with a vase full of sunflowers. Some delicious grilled chicken and a strawberry-rhubarb crisp to ring in the big 2-5.

xx,

h